“Sober” involves a military coder (Ander Del Rio) who wakes up and finds himself strapped to a chair in an unknown location. An intimidating authority figure (Ian Kerch) pops in and out of the metallic room he is in to interrogate him of things he knows nothing of. Regardless of how much innocence he claims, the methods of torture get more and more brutal. Thankfully, most of it isn’t shown, just implied, making the events all the more harsh to imagine. The coder tries to figure things out on his own when female civilian is thrown into the room also and the interrogator becomes more frustrated at the lack of details these two are giving up. When he gets more and more violent with the prisoners, they decide something needs to be done, before the interrogator does some permanent damage.
Writer/director Frank Bologna doesn’t drown the action with too many pointless details either. The film doesn’t concern itself with dates or a setting but is easily relatable anyway. In a time when the news often shares stories of torturous military methods, one could even think this sort of event could happen today. The film takes place in a single location (a factory-esque room) and never gets stale to look at. “Sober” is a tightly shot, intensely acted, and well-directed little thriller that grabs your attention and never lets go.
